symondrake.com » Books

The Ted Dekker challenge

Symon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:08:00 +0000

I’ve just finished yet another Ted Dekker book.

In two words… pure awesomeness.

Without any exaggeration – I wholeheartedly believe that Ted Dekker is one of the best writers currently on the planet – and it just so happens that he is a Christian.

Naysayers.. don’t stop reading this post just yet…

Many of you probably think that Christian fiction authors only write second rate drivel, cheesy romance novels or cliched 300 page evangelistic tracts…

Think again.

I encourage you… no, urge you… no challenge you to read a Ted Dekker novel. Regardless if you are a follower of Christ or not, you will be impacted by many of Dekker’s stories.

The man is incredibly talented – and his tales, plots, twists, messages are nothing short of brilliantly crafted and some would say divinely inspired.

One word of caution though – don’t expect your average Christian romance novel.

Click here to visit Ted Dekker’s website.

Click here to read reviews of Dekker’s works at over at Flannelgraph.org.

Behind The Shack

Symon — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:44:00 +0000

The Shack was a story written for my six children, with no thought or intention to publish. It is as much a surprise to me as to anyone else that I am now an ‘author’. (William P. Young)

Last night I finished reading The Shack (You can read my review over at flannelgraph).

Currently (September 2009), The Shack is #2 on the NY Times bestselling paperbacks list. It debuted at #1 in mid 2008 and stayed at the top spot for 36 weeks. It has sold over 7 million copies and counting, and people are ranking it among Christan literary masterpieces like Pilgrim’s Progress.

Wow.

What not many people realise, is how the book became popular…

William P. Young wrote a story about his journey with God for his children. He gave it to his close friends to read, who all thought that the story was too significant not to publish. Problem was that no Christian publisher would take it on, saying it was ‘too controversial’, and no secular company would publish it due to it being ‘too Christian’. What did Young’s friends do? They started their own publishing company of course! Windblown Media was launched and $300 was spent marketing the book. Over 7 million copies later, the rest is now history.

Imagine the joy of Young and his friends (and their wonder of God). Imagine the tears of every publisher that turned down the rights to the book. Imagine the millions of lives this book has impacted.

If you haven’t already read this book (whether you have a faith in God or not), please do… it could quite possibly change your perspective of life.

(If you want to read more of the story behind The Shack, please visit William P. Young’s blog.)

Me, Myself, & Bob

Symon — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:40:00 +0000

It’s been too long since my last post. I’m easing myself back into it by writing a good old fashioned book review. Paisley Jade bought me this book for Father’s Day, and I’m really glad she did.

The full title is ‘Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables’ by Phil Vischer. The following is the blurb from the website…

Ever wondered how Bob and Larry came to be? How a young computer animator and a few friends with no money and no clue managed to launch the most successful direct-to-video series EVER? Even more interesting… how did such a huge success flame-out and fall to pieces – and what role did faith and God play in what happened to Big Idea Productions and in what has happened since then to that computer animator with the big idea? Shortly after the bankruptcy of Big Idea Productions, Phil wrote an account on this website to briefly explain what had happened to everyone’s favorite vegetables. A lot of people really enjoyed that account – some even made it required reading for their own employees at their own ‘big ideas’. And then some asked, “But how did it all start? What was it like when it was a big hit? And what did Phil learn from the entire experience?” And Phil realized he had more to say than one website article could contain. Two years later, here it is. The whole story. A tale so big, it could only be called Me, Myself & Bob. If you thought VeggieTales and Big Idea were interesting to watch from the outside – whoo boy! Strap yourselves in for the real adventure!

I’ve always loved Veggietales (PJ and I used to hire them even before we had kids ;-). I just counted the number of Veggietales DVD’s/videos we own… 14. A few years ago I heard the rumour that Veggietales had gone into liquidation, that everything had hit the fan, and had wondered why God allowed it to happen. This book explains why.

It is excellent, and I believe it is a ‘must read’ for anyone who has had big dreams for God… started to see them come to pass, only to see them fall apart. Phil Vischer is very transparent retelling his story, his dreams, his ambition, his shortcomings, his failure and his disillusionment… and I really, really appreciate him for it.

This book will appeal to anyone who is…

… a veggietales fans
… into computer animation
… into entertainment industry
… a christian businessman or woman
… a christian leader

The average customer rating on Amazon for this book is 5 starts out of 5 stars.

Top children’s books of all time

Symon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:10:00 +0000

Just to surprise you all, tonight’s post is my pick on the top seven children’s books of all time. Having once been a kid myself, and now having four (which we take to the library weekly), I think my opinion is qualified ;-)

So for those of you with nieces/nephews between the ages of 2 to 6, or who are thinking of having a child some time… consider this post ‘pure gold’.

8. A Very Hungry Caterpillar

(Written and illustated by Eric Carle. First published in 1969.)

An extremely simple but clever book that has become one of the best selling books of all time (over 25,000,000).

7. Ten Dirty Pigs/Ten Clean Pigs

(Written by Carol Roth and illustrated by Pam Paparone. First published in 1999.)

Half of the book is about ten dirty pigs and how they get clean, and the other half is about ten clean pigs and how they get dirty. Clever and very amusing.

6. The Monster At The End Of This Book

(Written by John Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin. First published in 1971.)

This book has sentimental vaule as it was the first book I ever remember reading all by myself. It also has a classic ending, and lovable furry old Grover.

5. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly

(Illustrated by Pam Adams. Published in 2000.)

To this day I still wonder how the old lady could get the animals in her gut and in one piece in the first place!

4. The Bear Scouts
(Written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstein. First published in 1967.)

Almost all of the Bearenstein Bear books are awesome (I still laugh at them, which either means they have great inter-generational value, or I’m very immature ;-)

3. Fox in Socks

(Written and illustrated by Theodor Seuss Geisel. First Published in 1965.)

I never yet have read this book right through, out loud, and at normal speed without getting words mixed up. All of Dr. Seuss’s books are legendary, but this is his masterpiece IMO.

2. A Fish Out Of Water
(Written by Helen Palmer and illustrated by P. D. Eastman. First published in 1961.)

Another classic from my childhood. It has an ending that has fustrated me my whole life!

1. Chimp And Zee
(Written by Laurence Anholt and illustrated by Katherine Anholt. First published in 2001.)

The very best children’s book has got to be Chimp and Zee. I could not recommend this book more highly. I’ve read it out load so many times (between 50 and 100) and I still get a kick out of it!